Brewer responds to benching by giving Bulls big lift

After sitting out all of Game 3, veteran swingman is active presence on both ends in Game 5 victory

May 09, 2012|By K.C. Johnson, Chicago Tribune reporter

There are private moments that occur within any sports team, far away from the media glare. Those moments are when teams can bond, when respect can be earned.

Ronnie Brewer had such a moment after Game 3 of the Bulls-76ers series, the first time he sat by coach's decision in his two seasons as a Bull.

"A lot of players, that could affect them," Luol Deng said. "But Ronnie is a pro. He knows what he needs to do to help us. Some stuff he does, you might not see in the stats. He doesn't get a lot of credit. But his defense is great, he always comes in with energy and we get stops and go out and run."

Brewer stuffed Tuesday's Game 5 box score with six points, eight rebounds, three steals and three assists in 29 active minutes. That he brought this energy after his inactivity didn't surprise his teammates, but it impressed them.

"I love Ronnie," said Kyle Korver, also Brewer's teammate with the Jazz. "He's such a good guy, great teammate and hard worker. He never pouted. That just shows what kind of person he is."

As a competitor, Brewer admitted sitting out Game 3 was difficult, but he still tried to contribute.

"When (coach Tom Thibodeau) doesn't call my name, you still have an obligation to be the eyes and ears for the guys on the floor," Brewer said. "I still had my part by telling Lu, Rip (Richard Hamilton) and Kyle what I saw out there.

"When (Thibodeau) put me back out there, I knew I had to bring something lacking, which was energy on the defensive end. Their guards have been hurting us the entire series. I tried to slow them down a little bit."

Brewer helped limit those guards' penetration, a critical component to the 76ers' victories in Games 3 and 4.

"They have three very quick guys off the dribble," Thibodeau said. "You're looking at (Jrue) Holiday and (Lou) Williams together and whether it's (Evan) Turner or (Andre) Iguodala, Ronnie matches up well. Getting to loose balls, his defense, offensively running the floor, he played very well. The team functioned very well when he was on the floor."

That's where Brewer will be again for Game 6 on Thursday. It beats sitting on the bench.

"At the end of the day, you have one common goal and that's to win," Brewer said. "If that means Lu, Kyle and Rip playing that many minutes, I'm all about it. I'm a team player and all about winning. I take it to heart to be a true professional."